Modern automotive vehicles may be constructed using energy-absorbing external body panels, which serve to reduce an amount of energy ultimately transferred or transmitted through the vehicle body panels to the vehicle interior by an impacting object. The reduction of energy may in turn soften a perceived impact force by reducing the resultant energy transferred to the vehicle interior. Other energy-absorbing vehicle exterior components operate in a similar manner, for example low-speed bumper assemblies designed to soften or cushion an impact between two vehicles below a certain threshold speed.
Additionally, various vehicle safety devices, such as seat belts or deployable air bags, similarly help minimize the perceived force of an impact by absorbing an amount of energy transferred during an impact. While such devices are known to be highly effective for their intended purposes, they may be less than optimal for certain vehicle designs, such as large vans, buses, or sport utility vehicles (SUVs) having multiple rows of rear seats. For example, while seat belts are commonly used in conjunction with driver and front passenger seats in such vehicles, frontal air bag devices or other frontal supplemental energy-absorption devices are not typically positioned facing rear vehicle seats.